AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 195,011 Shares of Uniti Group Inc. $UNIT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Uniti Group Inc. by 20.7%, owning approximately 1.13 million shares worth around $5.72 million.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings for Uniti Group, with Wells Fargo raising the price target from $4.50 to $7.50, while Zacks cut it to a "strong sell."
• Uniti Group reported EPS of $0.36 in its latest earnings, missing the consensus estimate by $0.06, despite a 2% year-over-year revenue increase.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,134,963 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 195,011 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.46% of Uniti Group worth $5,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNIT. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group during the first quarter worth $65,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group during the first quarter worth $66,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group during the first quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group during the first quarter worth $86,000. 87.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Uniti Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNIT stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $6.88. 2,485,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,224,464. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $6.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.13. Uniti Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.68 and a 52 week high of $12.62.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $300.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $304.06 million. Uniti Group had a negative return on equity of 1.43% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. Uniti Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Uniti Group Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNIT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Uniti Group from $4.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Uniti Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Uniti Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Uniti Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.70.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group, Inc is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the acquisition, construction, and leasing of properties. It operates through the following business segments: Uniti Leasing, Uniti Fiber, and Corporate. The Uniti Leasing segment involves mission-critical communications assets on exclusive or shared-tenant basis, and dark fiber network.